A Minister Interviewed.

Manawatu Herald, 18 October 1892, Page 2

A Minister Interviewed.

Dt. rinj the wholo session of Parliament the Hon. Richard Seddon has done his best to misrepresent the Railway Commissioners, but luckily for the colony he found men on the Opposition side of fche House who were' able to show the inoorrectness of his assertions. The Government have gone a long way in their attacks upon the Commissioners, the Hon J. McKenzie asserting that " they 'knew that the Opposition were simply the apologists , of the Commissioners in that Housei" He also daringly ventured to assert thafc the strikes saved their existence '■and* they were accused of endeavouring to get them kept up merely •for the purpose of keeping themselves ''in office "111 The leader of .the Opposition hoped the rommittee would bear this statement in mind. We hope the public will also, as showing the bias of the. Government. The little schemes of the Minister of Public Wdrks haying been thwarted in the House, he secures what is termed an" " interview " with, the representative of the Ministerial ; journal in Wellington, the only paper that Mr John McKenzie asserted could be relied on for Ministerial views of the situation. Under cover of this 4 * interview " the Hon. R. Seddon continues his attaoks upon the Railway Commissioners with more freedom and force owing to the jOpposjtionnot being present to show hiiri up; The Minister cowardly asserts "that the Commissioners have advantages not possessed by myself in this controversy," meaning by this, as expressed' further on in the New Zealand Times report, " that so long as thair (the Commissioners) advertising expenditure was lavish, it was only natural that .^he newspapers would be fvvourahle," though he knows that papers of all shades of opinion are equally treated, as the' Christchurch Pres* received £947 and the Lyttelton Times £940. This is the spirit in which the Commissioners actions are treated, as Mr Seddon getting bowled out on the question of advertising in the House, by his being requested to give the amounts paid to the Times and Post during the last three years, says : — "Yes, I observe that in the past the Times has had the advantage, a small one, in the expenditure. I wonder whether it will continue. Time alone can tell." This is the expression of . an Acting Premier ! The colony is governed by a very little mind.

Mr George Nye replies to the requisition asking him to become a candidate for the po.ition of Mayor, by consenting. The requisition appears elsewhere; The Union Clothing and Mercery Company have a new advertisement to-day, stating that they are now in " full swing," and are prepared to sell everything that is wanted for man or boy. We would remind our readers of the Lantern show at the Public Hall to-night, we believe the Polyopitican to be well worth a visit. Yesterday there was another unnecessary display of hurry ori the patt of a horse who was only asked to stand still. Mr Murray, of soda water fame, had just descended from the light trap in which he convey his refreshing drinks round to the various hotels, at Mr Cawston's, when his thoroughbred thought he would do a mile on his own acoount and try to break the record made by Mr E. Gray's horße. He went down Main-street in grand style, and getting thoroughly warmed to his work disdained to make so quiok a finish as his rival so continued his course to No 1 Line past Mr Gower's, and would have gone much further had he not, near Mr Dudson's house, capsized his vehicle. He not only broke the record, , but. the bottles in the trap. We Are glad td ie&rii that not much harm, besides this, was done. Our Borough Councillors are full of consideration, not only of the health of the town, but of the convenience needed for some ratepayers to thoroughly enjoy life. The Bacing Club having a oharge for the use of their training track, the Councillors thought every one should have a show, and so have had hurdles provided on some of the streets. The obstacle was just the thing desired by an equestrian, as he thought directly he espied it, and gaily put his steed at it to clear and thus display his proficiency upon man's noblest animal. It did not however fall out quite as intended, for the horse had not that spring which his rider expeoted and instead of jumping they tumbled over. As the road is metalled neither were the better for the experience, and we would advise riders to resist this latest temptation of tiie evil ones. . - ■ Messrs Lord & Lewis finished to day the well for Mr Purcell. The pipe is down 144 feet and an excellent flow of pure water has been obtained. It is reported that the illicit distillation of whisky is being practised on a large scale in the Masterton district at the pre* sent time. Only at Wellington. The N.Z. Times says : — During the gale on Friday night a lady who was crossing Lambton Quay was blown down, and rolled over several times by the sheer force of the wind. Fortunately she was not seriously hurt. An accident of a serious nature occurred at Paraparaumu about 7 o'clook on Thursday night, when a settler named Peter Wootten, who formerly resided on Tina-kori-road, was badly injured through an explosion of blasting powder. It appears that he was searohing for powder in an' outhouse, when a spark from the light he was holding ignited the explosive, and he was blown out of the building. He was badly. burned about the head and ohest, and in order that he might receive proper medical attention he was seat down to Wellington. At the Columbian Exposition, the largest steer in the world will be shown. The sf eer was sired by a purebred Holstein, and its dam is a purebred Durham cow. The animal is 6 years old and weighs 3,800 pounds. Its height is 5 feet 10 inches, ita girth 10 feet 8 inohes its girth oyer loin 10 feet 10 inohes, and its length from root of ear to rump 9 feet 10 inches. It is cabled that the new Union formed by a portion of the men on strike at Broken Hill has fizzled out for the present. Mr H. H. Hay ter's statistics indicate hat the population of Victoria has been seriously affected by the exodus to other ' colonies. At the annual meeting of the D.I.C, at Dunedin, Mr H aliens tein (the Chairman) stated that the net profit was £9733, as against £7300 last year, for whioh addition the oompany was mainly indebted to the new branoh at Wellington, where the turnover had been larger than during the first year at either Christchuroh or Dunedin. A dividend of 7£ per cent ahd a bonus of 4 per cent on the shareholders' purohases, . was deolared; £2500 was added to the Building Kinking Fund, and the whole, of the preliminary expenses, amounting to £1616, were written off, the directors pre : ferriug this to. paying a higher. dividend and bonus. • General satisfaction was expressed at the manner in which the direc tors and managers had conducted the increasing business of the Company. Under date of Saturday a Queensland coasting schooner reports that .the New Zea and Shipping Company's s.s. Buahine is on a reef at Cape Upstart, on the Queensland coast. Later reports state that the vessel was floated off, and is anchored under the Cape. At Hong Eong it is feared that the Peninsula and Oriental Steamship Company's steamer Bokhara, of 1170 tons, has been caught in a typhoon in the. China Seas and foundered^ KhC'has been reinsured at a premium 0f, 7,Q guineas. The N.Z. limes says.: — We are glad to notice that Mr E. A. Haggen, the editor of the Woodville Examiner, was released from gaol on Saturday. The fine inflicted upon him has also, we understand, been remitted, and he has not been asked to give sureties for his behaviour in the future.